Industrial Pollution in Beijing

Final Report for Introduction to China

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Introduction

Beijing is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. Due to this reason, there

is an intensive need to come up with effective ways to reduce the menace of environmental

pollution in the state. There is an urgent requirement for this initiative because the lives of the

citizens of China is depending on it (Zhen et al. 68). So, the state must engage in the drafting of

the economic plan for the next five years with clear cut guidelines and targets that would be

implemented by the relevant authorities and stakeholders for solving the environmental pollution

problems. The state needs to establish strict policies and regulations against water and air pollution

which is harmful for our health and the economy of the state.

A wide range of remedies has been identified as a way of ensuring the reduction of

environmental degradation. However, the primary concern is the reduction and purification of

urban smog into a clean and good quality air. The government of Beijing has already listed one of

the principal causes of air pollution in the major cities in the state as the emission of the small

particulate matter called the Particulate Material 2.5 (Xin and Zhongchao, 143). PM 2.5 is an air

pollutant which is very harmful for environment if present in large quantities. This pollutant must

be reduced down to 25 % in order to declare the cities in Beijing safe for their residents. This

venture has been the main avenue through which the Chinese government is contemplating on the

ways to help reduce pollution in the cities and other urban centers in the state.

This report focuses on the ways that can be used to solve the problem of industrial pollution

in the Beijing region. The increasing population and the large number industries are the main

contributors of the increase in environmental pollution in the city. The industries contribute a major

amount in the pollution so we can convert these industries on renewable energy sources rather

relying on fossil fuels which are more polluting. The waste material and smoke generated by these
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industries should be properly treated before dumping into water reservoirs to mitigate water and

air pollution. Strict government regulations should be imposed on the industries for monitoring the

air quality leaving their factories and take measures to make the emissions in compliance with the

regulations. Factories and other extensive energy using industries should be established far from

residential areas in order to lessen their impact on the people. The criteria used to evaluate the

solution of this problem in this paper will be the Impact of air quality in Beijing and impact of the

location.

Impact of Air Quality in Beijing

Explanation:

Most of the residents in the cities of Beijing didn’t take much interest in the environment

they are living in. There were no worries about the air issues as of now, and the weight for the law

to follow all the way through was not a major ordeal to most subjects (Xin and Zhongchao 12).

Testing and treating air quality is one solution to solve pollution in Beijing. As the years advanced,

the quality of air in Beijing deteriorated, and this called for prompt measures to be taken to improve

the quality and mitigate the dangerous gases present in the environment. Air quality is very

important for humans lives because it affects their health in a dangerous way. People should

breathe clean air in order to maintain their health. By setting proper regulations, the impact of air

quality will be compared by looking at the result laws and treatments are applied.

Data:

In light of the information provided in Figure 1 underneath, it is very clear to reason that

by and large, the industry releases a great deal of pollutants and industrial wastes without their

treatment in the environment which imparts very harmful effects to the inhabitants. The emission

regulations that are set up nowadays are becoming very strict to guarantee the safety of residents
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living inside these urban areas (Gao et al. 265). These laws are clearly stipulated, thorough and are

designed for giving people better living conditions in an overcrowded country like China. But,

even they are not enough to improve the quality of environment because of the large number of

multi-scale industries in the state. Mega factories and industries follow the laws imposed by the

government properly because their reputation directly depends on it. Figure 2 shows the different

gases emitted by the industries and to what extent they are treatable by conventional methods. The

data represents that all the harmful gases can be reduced to minimal levels accept NOx which is

only reducible to 48%. Gases like NOx and SOx are the main reasons of acidic rains which have

dangerous impacts on the environment.

Figure 1: Air Quality Index Data for Beijing

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Figure 2:Removal efficiencies for PM10, PM2.5, NOX, SO2, and O3, during the single treatment
cycle of the CLIMATIC unit installed on the roof of the Royal Danish Embassy in Beijing, China
(INFUSER, n.d.)
Interpretation:

From the information provided above, it is clear to say that the improving of air quality is

the most effective method in order to solve the problem of the pollution at the initial stage. We can

see that most of the dangerous gases emitted by industries can be treated effectively using an air

treatment facility. NOx and SO2 can cause acidic rain if present in large quantity but their

concentration in the environment can be reduced to 48% and 83% respectively. The second most

suitable solution is to treat the waste materials properly before discarding them into water. It can

help to reduce water pollution which is very vital at this stage. Renewable energy sources are the

alternate key for industries to minimize pollution but it is an expensive and long term solution.

The administration system in Beijing is decentralized, which means that the neighborhood

powers and the common governments have more power than the focal government. It gets very

difficult for the key government in China to press charges for violation in laws over every one of

the divisions of the state. Each city in the state has a special method for implementing the

ecological laws, and this makes it a tedious task to deal with managing the whole issue because of

countless powers with various ways to deal with the natural issues (Liu et al. 112).
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Impacts of location

Explanation:

The air pollution in the vast majority of the urban areas in the Chinese region has very

harmful impacts on the general population in Beijing city. The government authorities are working

tirelessly to minimize this serious issue because the future of their young ones directly depends on

it. The cases should bring about some number of specific issues connected with the air pollution

on the people concerned (Pan et al. 90). The location of the air pollution resources is near the

residential areas which makes them more impactful. Stakeholders must make sure that the location

of the factories and other industrial units which are the main sources of pollution must be far away

from towns. The residential areas must be free from any type of factories because the generation

of smog in those areas severely affect the people causing various diseases like asthma, lung

disease, irritation in throat, eyes and nose, etc. Extent of air contamination is directly connected to

the rates of coronary illness, growth, respiratory sicknesses, stroke and other circulatory.

Data:

In light of the information given in Figure 2, the air contamination problems in a large

portion of the inhabitants in Beijing have been heightening in the late years particularly related to

the toxins of the air. Chinese government has the sole duty of rescuing the lives of its natives from

the harmful impacts of the pollution in urban regions by setting laws and regulations that deal with

keeping the residential areas separated from the industrial areas. It is important for the

administration to make an entire quality data that is effortlessly accessible to the overall population

as a method for helping them avoid and control the environmental pollution. The government must

also introduce health schemes in order to create awareness among the locals about the safety

measure one should adopt to be safe from the pollution generated diseases.
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Figure 3: Air Pollution Index in Major Chinese Cities

Table 1: Air Quality Index Values and their Level of Health Concern

Air Quality Index Values Level of Health Concerns Colors

0-50 Good Green

51-100 Moderate Yellow

101-150 Unhealthy for sensitive Orange

groups

151-200 Unhealthy Red

201-300 Very Unhealthy Purple

301-500 Hazardous Maroon

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Table 2: Quantities of Industrial Pollutants Present in the Environment

Pollutants Background Urban Ambient Stack Effluent

Carbonmonoxide(CO) 0.1 ppm 5-10 ppm 2000-10000 ppm

Sulphurdioxide (SO2) 0.5 ppb 0.02-0.2 ppm 500-3500 ppm
Nitrogen Oxide(NOx) 0.5-5 ppm 0.2-1.0 ppm 1500-2500 ppm
Ozone (O3) 10 ppb 0.1-0.5 ppm ----
Particulate Matter 10 micro gram/m3 60 micro gram/m3 35000 milligram/m3
Methane (CH4) 1.5 ppm 1-10 ppm ----

Interpretation:

There is vital need to screen the emissions by the power plants to lessen the accumulation

of the dangerous wastes on the earth (Xie et al. 114). The administration in Beijing must consider

about the location of towns and should not issue license to establish industries within their

vicinities. The taxation on fossil fuel vehicles should be increase where it should be decrease on

electric and solar vehicles in order to incline the people towards the green sources of energy. Fossil

fuel power plants must be replaced with the nuclear power plants which generates electricity

without damaging the environment. Although the capital cost of such power plants is larger but

their operational cost is very low and cheap, clean electricity can be generated by them.

Conclusion

The report has stated the suitable solutions which can be adopted by the Chinese

government in order to reduce the menace of air pollution in its major cities, such as taking air

quality into consideration by setting laws and search for ways to treat it. Also, preventing the

establishment of factories and energy-intensive industries near residential areas. Comparing all the

methods of air treatment, setting proper regulations for air emissions and conversion on alternate

energy resources are the best ways to increase the level of polluted air. The air present in Beijing
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is very harmful for the health its inhabitants that is why proper measures should be taken to reduce

air pollution. The table 2 shows the effects of industrial gases on the environment:

Table 3: Industrial Gases and Their Effects

Industrial Gases and Their Effects Air Pollution

NOx, SOx, PM
Effects Local/Regional

Human Health Effects Breathing problems, Asthma, Lung diseases,

Irritation in eyes, deaths

Timescale of Effects Short-term/immediate

Environmental Effects Acid rain, Smog, Global Warming

Major Sources Fuels of industries and vehicles

Setting strict rules and regulations for the treatment of air quality is the best solution to avoid the

problem of air pollution in Beijing, however this solution is not applied properly, which make it

less efficient than it should be.

Recommendation

Strict air emission regulations are recommended to be imposed on the industries to monitor

the quality of their emissions and take suitable measures for the minimization of harmful contents

present in those emissions.

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References

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benefit analysis." Science of the Total Environment 543 (2016): 307-314.

Liu, Gengyuan, et al. "Prevention and control policy analysis for energy-related regional pollution

management in China." Applied Energy 166 (2016): 292-300.

Pan, Dan, et al. "Farmers' preferences for livestock pollution control policy in China: a choice

experiment method." Journal of Cleaner Production (2016).

Xie, Yujing, et al. "A cooperative reduction model for regional air pollution control in China that

considers adverse health effects and pollutant reduction costs." Science of the Total

Environment 573 (2016): 458-469.

Xin, W., Q. Yanbing, and Z. Zhongchao. "A Novel Framework for Agricultural Non-Point Source

Pollution Management and Control in China." Transylvanian Review 24.8 (2016).

Zhen, Jiliang, et al. "An optimization model design for energy systems planning and management

under considering air pollution control in Tangshan City, China." Journal of Process

Control 47 (2016): 58-77.

INFUSER. (n.d.). Retrieved from infuser.eu: http://infuser.eu/indoor-air-quality-removal-

particulate-matter-gaseous-pollutants-china/